Family, friends, recall Dresser’s commitment to community

For the Sturgis community, the death of Raymond Dresser Jr. leaves “a huge void,” said Leonard Eishen, a longtime friend.

By Rosalie Curriercurrier@sturgisjournal.com

For the Sturgis community, the death of Raymond Dresser Jr. leaves “a huge void,” said Leonard Eishen, a longtime friend.

Dresser, 81, passed away Friday after a battle with cancer.

Larry Franks of Sturgis echoed Eishen’s comments.

“Ray was a great man,” Franks said. “It will be a great loss to Sturgis.”

After law school in 1956, Dresser went to work with his father, Raymond H. Dresser Sr.

He returned to Sturgis, a city Dresser proved he loved in the course of his life.

Jim Goethals of Sturgis said he had the privilege of knowing Dresser for 50 years.

“Ray was a very gentle person that contributed so much to our community,” Goethals said. “Much of it behind the scenes without seeking recognition.”

While the Dressers did not seek recognition, many residents know they have been generous toward Sturgis Hospital and Glen Oaks Community College.

As president of Sturgis Rotary Club, Dresser helped create the Sturgis Area Community Foundation and later drove the vision for Doyle Community Center.

Records show that the Dressers were instrumental in building the ampitheater at Oaklawn Park, KeyStone Place in Centreville and the Sturgis youth soccer and Rocket football field at Franks Park. He played a key role in the Sturgis Improvement Association and Sturgis Economic Development Corporation.

Dresser’s son, John Dresser, said Sturgis was one of the first communities to form an EDC, because his father recognized the value it would hold for the community.

Dresser’s philanthropy received recognition at the state level. In 2006, he received the state’s first Community Foundation Philanthropy Award from then-Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

“There are few individuals in the history of this community that have done more to improve Sturgis over time than Ray Dresser,” said Sturgis Mayor Ken Malone. “Most of us will never know the extent of his positive impact, whether it be through volunteering, community advocacy, philanthropy or through nurturing and consulting of businesses.”

According to his friends, Dresser saw possibilities rather than impossibilities.

“Whenever I had a mountain too high to climb or a hole too deep to dig out of, I would always go to Ray,” Eishen said. “He could level the mountain and make the hole shallow.”

Whenever Dresser heard too many accolades about himself, he was quick to pass credit on to the men who mentored him. At the top of Dresser’s list was his father and Judge Theo Jacobs, the lawyer Dresser Sr. joined in 1926.

One of Dresser’s prized possession was Jacobs’ roll top desk from the law firm he established in Sturgis in 1898.

However, his life wasn’t all about work.

The three most important things to Dresser, John said, “in no particular order, were family, the profession of law and his community.”

He loved collegiate sports, especially following Amherst College and University of Michigan, John said.

That brought a smile to Goethals’ face.

“The only differences we ever had was he was a Michigan fan and I am a Notre Dame fan,” Goethals said.

Although the community will miss his impact, Dresser’s many friends will mourn a personal loss.

“Ray’s personality was so calm and so pleasing, he could associate with everybody and make them think they were his best friend,” Eishen said.

A funeral service is scheduled for Friday at First Presbyterian Church in Sturgis.